THE CONNOR BROTHERS — Contemporary Pop Artists Blending Narrative, Satire & Vintage Iconography

The Connor Brothers are an artistic duo of British artists named Mike Snelle and James Golding who first emerged in 2012 under a carefully crafted pseudonym and fictional origin story. Posing as reclusive American twins named Franklyn and Brendan Connor, supposedly raised in an extremist Californian cult known as “The Family,” the artists used mythmaking as both camouflage and conceptual framework. This invented narrative allowed them to explore ideas of truth, fiction, identity, and storytelling while remaining anonymous. Their true identities were revealed in 2014 in The Telegraph, marking a pivotal moment that shifted their career toward high-profile international projects and widespread acclaim.

The Connor Brothers became widely recognized for their reimagined vintage pin-up imagery, retro paperback covers, and Old Hollywood aesthetics, often paired with sharply humorous, ironic, or poignantly melancholic text. Their breakout series, the Pulp Fiction works (2013), featured reworked mid-century book covers with layered slogans that comment on modern anxieties, cultural contradictions, and the blurry lines between authenticity and illusion. Blending image and text into a seamless storytelling device, the duo created a visual language that feels nostalgic yet contemporary, seductive yet subversive.

Beyond their studio practice, The Connor Brothers have used their platform to engage with urgent global and social issues. They spent several years working inside the Jungle refugee camp in Calais, building shelters and launching the Refuchic billboard campaign to bring international awareness to the refugee crisis. They have collaborated with activist groups such as Pussy Riot, and partnered with musician Professor Green and the mental-health charity CALM to advocate for men’s mental health, depression awareness, and suicide prevention. These initiatives reflect a core belief that art can be both politically resonant and emotionally connective.

Since unveiling their identities, the duo has exhibited worldwide, including in London, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Dubai, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Their work has been featured in major auction houses such as Phillips, achieving increasingly strong secondary-market results. Today, The Connor Brothers are widely considered influential figures in contemporary pop and text-based art.

Their works are held in esteemed public and private collections across the globe, including the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), The Penguin Collection, and major private holdings such as the Niarchos Collection. Blurring satire, nostalgia, cultural critique, and literary wit, The Connor Brothers continue to offer incisive reflections on contemporary Western society, challenging viewers to question what’s real, what’s invented, and why the stories we tell ourselves matter.

Explore The Connor Brothers at DTR Modern Galleries

DTR Modern Galleries proudly features The Connor Brothers within its contemporary program, offering collectors access to their sought-after limited editions, mixed-media paintings, and signature pulp-inspired works. Their art can be explored and acquired through our locations in Boston, New York City, Palm Beach, and Washington, D.C.